Kansas lawmaker calls for audit of child welfare agency

Wichita  A Kansas lawmaker plans to ask for an audit to determine whether the Kansas Department for Children and Families discriminates against same-sex couples in foster care and adoption cases.

Rep. Jim Ward, a Democrat from Wichita, said he will ask the audit Dec. 10 when the Legislative Post-Audit Committee meets.

The Wichita Eagle reports Ward's request comes after a Topeka city councilman and his wife were granted custody of a child over a lesbian couple from Wichita last year based on a recommendation from the state agency. The lesbian couple had cared for the child for 11 months.

The Topeka couple, Jonathan and Allison Schumm, were charged in November with one count each of aggravated battery and four counts of endangering a child.